main battle tank

noun

"main-battle-tank" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“main battle tank” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The primary tank of a country or armed forces.

Key facts for main battle tank
PropertyValue
Headwordmain battle tank
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “main battle tank” sits in English frequency

main battle tank falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

main battle tank is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for main battle tank, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: USA, 1955, main + battle tank. The correct English form is main battle tank, spelled M-A-I-N- -B-A-T-T-L-E- -T-A-N-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    The primary tank of a country or armed forces.
  2. 2
    A tank with a good balance of firepower, cross-country mobility, and armoured protection, and therefore capable of carrying out the roles of breakthrough, exploitation and infantry support.

Etymology

USA, 1955, main + battle tank.

Synonyms

MBTuniversal tank

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "main battle tank"?
"main battle tank" is spelled M-A-I-N- -B-A-T-T-L-E- -T-A-N-K.
What does "main battle tank" mean?
As a noun, "main battle tank" means: The primary tank of a country or armed forces.
What is the origin of the word "main battle tank"?
USA, 1955, main + battle tank. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “main battle tank”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-A-I-N- -B-A-T-T-L-E- -T-A-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list